White House Acknowledges More Contacts With Enron

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Published: May 23, 2002

WASHINGTON, May 22 — White House officials had more extensive contacts with Enron executives in 2001 than previously disclosed, according to a document released by the Bush administration today in response to a request for information from a Senate committee.

The document describes contacts — including meetings, phone conversations, letters and e-mail messages — that concerned the national energy policy report produced by Vice President Dick Cheney, the California energy crisis, Enron's collapse last fall and appointments to administration posts, including the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The White House document also disclosed that Enron executives, including Kenneth L. Lay, the former chairman, attended numerous White House functions, including the 2001 inaugural, the Easter Egg roll, T-ball games, speeches and social events.

The release of the information came hours after a deeply divided Senate panel voted to issue two subpoenas to the White House for information about contacts with Enron, with Democrats accusing the White House of resisting earlier requests for information and Republicans suggesting that the move was politically motivated.

The White House document released today was prepared in response to an earlier request for information from the Governmental Affairs Committee, whose chairman is Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee. While it came after the subpoena was issued, it was not a legal response to it.

Aides to Mr. Lieberman said tonight that after a brief review of the document, the panel regards it as short of the information being sought. "It appears the White House is still providing only what it thinks is relevant, rather than what the committee asked for," said Leslie Phillips, a spokeswoman for the committee. "We just don't know if the information is everything they collected, or just what they're willing to tell us. This would not have in any way averted a subpoena."

Before the White House document was released, a spokeswoman said administration officials were "rather perplexed" that the panel had "taken this highly unusual step to issue subpoenas without having reviewed" the material.

The vote in the Governmental Affairs Committee this morning was 9 to 8 along party lines to issue the subpoenas. It came after more than an hour's debate that included a heated exchange between Mr. Lieberman and Senator Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi.

The subpoenas were the first issued by Congress to the executive branch in the continuing inquiry into Enron's collapse and are likely to be resisted by the White House, which has often complained that Congress is encroaching on its executive power and constitutional prerogatives.

In another battle with Congress over the same kind of issue, the Justice Department sought today to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the General Accounting Office seeking to obtain records of meetings last year between energy industry executives and Mr. Cheney's energy task force.

The Justice Department's motion in federal district court here argues that the G.A.O. is trying to "improperly inject itself and the courts into the president's exercise of his powers." The G.A.O.'s position, the Justice Department said, "would revolutionize and violate the separation of powers doctrine that has made our nation's government so strong."

A spokesman for the G.A.O. declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

In another development related to Enron today, many of the nation's largest energy traders told FERC that they did not engage in the manipulative trading tactics in California outlined in internal Enron memorandums released by the commission this month. But several of the companies, including Williams and Mirant , said some trades had similar characteristics to those outlined in the memos. The companies maintained, though, that the trades had been made under different circumstances or adhered to market rules.

The traders made filings today at the energy regulatory commission in response to a demand from investigators examining accusations of manipulation during the California power crisis of 2000-01. Today, the commission widened its investigation again, ordering natural gas traders in Texas and Western states to disclose whether they engaged in fake "wash trades," selling gas back and forth at the same price. Such trades do not incur losses or profits, but allow traders to claim inflated revenue. Investigators are examining whether wash trades also allowed traders to increase reported prices for gas and electricity, thus affecting prices for the entire market.

The subpoenas, delivered this afternoon to the offices of the president and vice president, call for all communications, including records of White House visits, between Enron and the White House since 1992 that in any way deal with eight federal agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, they seek records of contacts between the White House and officials at the eight agencies regarding Enron. They also seek records of contacts between Enron and the White House over the formulation of the national energy policy, covering similar ground as the G.A.O. except that the accounting office is also seeking records of contacts with other energy companies.

The subpoenas demand that information be turned over by June 5. The White House called the action unnecessary today but did not say whether it would contest the subpoenas.